"Wow, look at you on Instagram!" I got a message from a friend a few weeks ago.

My reply?

"To be honest - don't get used to it!"

I'm basically exactly the kind of small business on Instagram that I used to tell people not to be.

(Do what I say, not what I do.)

At this point in my work, I pretty much only post on my Gloriam Instagram account when I'm leading up to or in the middle of a launch.

Otherwise? Crickets.

(Don't get me wrong - I still spend way too much time scrolling on Instagram. Still gotta work on that.)

Would it be more effective to post tips there regularly and get to know my followers more? Absolutely.

Does it seem disingenuous to only post when I have something to promote? Probably.

Does it go against everything I say about being consistent? Yup.

Trust me, I actually enjoy creating posts for social media and interacting with people there.

But with the very limited time I have for actually marketing Gloriam in the midst of all the work I'm doing for others (and you know, life), social media isn't what moves the needle for me nearly as much as this email list.

And so it goes on the back burner. And as much as I enjoy it - I'm okay with that.

I started thinking about all of this when I read Sam Vander Wielen's recent Substack on taking an entrepreneurial gap year.

(Disclaimer: Not an endorsement or non-endorsement of her Substack. I got my legal templates from her and just enjoy reading her perspectives on business things, even when I don't always agree.)

She talked about how for most small business owners, there needs to be a season for hustle, and that is something I definitely agree with.

Clients will often ask me how I got to the point where my main marketing is email, SEO, and word of mouth, and I always tell them —

Because I played the Instagram game for two years.

And now, I don't have to.

Could I continue to grow more and build more relationships if I prioritize Instagram now? Absolutely.

But I did that for 3 years from 2021-2023 (the hayday for Instagram for small businesses, in my opinion. Now it's significantly harder).

I did the multiple times per week posting, all of the cringe-worthy dancing posts that early Reels required, and showed random behind the scenes parts of my day on stories.

And it worked.

That's probably how a lot of you and I first connected.

Or where whoever recommended me to you first found me.

And now the momentum has gotten strong enough from that word of mouth + SEO combo alone that I don't need to hustle on Instagram anymore.

(That, and I'm not looking for Gloriam to grow into a full-time thing right now. I have three kids 5 and under, we're going to start homeschooling, and I have a strong desire to lean more into our in-person community.

So for now, this momentum is enough for me without Instagram. If I was trying to go full-time or make significantly more money, then I'd probably need to add it back in to cultivate a more regular funnel into my newsletter.)

Even Jesus shows us in the Gospels the different levels of "hustle" He had: the quiet early years in Nazareth, times of retreat for prayer, and times of such continuous ministry He and the disciples didn't even have time to eat or sleep.

All seasons, ebbs and flows.

I share all of this for two reasons:

One, make sure you're prioritizing the channels that actually work for you if you have limited marketing time.

Not necessarily the ones you enjoy the most,

Or that give you the most dopamine hits,

Or the ones you think you should be on to be most public,

But the ones that get you results the most.

And second - I agree that there is a time for hustle if you do want to grow.

Despite what some gurus will tell you, it's nearly impossible to grow without putting in significant time.

I would say that if you don't have a dedicated audience already and you have less than 3 hours per week to spend on marketing, it's probably going to be extremely slow growth - and that's okay.

(If you already have an established audience/customer base already, you can probably get away with 1-2 hours minimum to maintain the momentum you have.)

But I don't want you to have unrealistic expectations that you can spend a half hour a week on your marketing and explode. From what I've seen, it almost never happens that way.

Sometimes, God calls us to a season of hustle.

And sometimes He calls us to a season of maintenance.

And sometimes He calls us to a season of letting go.

And all are okay. All are holy.

As long as we do what He asks of us.

For His greater glory,

Emily